I had a great time at the Lync Conference 2014 last week. Among other news, AudioCodes tells me that their Mediant Virtual Edition and Server Edition SBC is now Lync OIP certified. AudioCodes tells me that it will take a bit for the OIP to get updated, but I think this is great news – especially for those who are doing straight SIP trunks.
YMMV
Playing with the Windows App Store and Windows 8.1. By default, the operating system wants to push you into the cloud. I am not a fan of that. I don’t want my stuff being synced to Microsoft so they can share it with whoever they want or dissect my usage patterns or look over my shoulder. They do enough of that already.
I wanted to download a simple free app. Yet the default was to convert my Surface Pro 2 to a microsoft online account. NOT! I did not run into this before as the 8.1 install was an upgrade from 8.0 – which apparently does not do this so nefariously.
After a bit of searching, I found this blog article that explained how to accomplish what I wanted. A local login, which uses my live.com account to access the store, but never try to convert my local account to a Microsoft online account with everything syncing to the MSFT cloud.
I understand the push to the cloud, I really do. But I don’t think I should be gerrymandered into accepting what appears to be an underhanded policy to make the cloud the default. As a suggestion for Microsoft – if they ever read this and actually think it through – please make the options outlined in the reference blog more visible as options instead of ASSuming that we all want to jump into the cloud and let you own my data and information.
YMMV
Toys! I like toys! I match the “children” part of the top definition, and #3 also applies…
But I digress.
The object of desire – at least for this article – is the Sennheiser SC 660 USB ML. I also have an SC 630 USB ML, which appears to be, and functions just like, the 660, except that it is only a one ear (monaural), while the 660 is a stereo. As mentioned here, monaural headsets are NOT my favorite. Give me stereo or give me….uhm….silence? At any rate, I have actually played worked with both the 660 and the 630 and comments on the 660 should be applied to the 630 also. Except of course, for hearing things in only one ear which drives me crazy. Also, musack through the 630 was decidly less good due to only one ear getting sound. It’s hard to enjoy Green Day or Johnny Winter if only one ear is getting rocked.
SC 630 USB ML – hear what’s going on around you – “A premium single-sided wired headset optimized for Microsoft Lync, with built in call control unit for quality-conscious contact center and UC professionals requiring outstanding sound performance while maintaining contact with their surroundings.”
SC 660 USB ML – stereo sound for maximum focus – “A premium dual-sided wired headset optimized for Microsoft Lync with built-in call control unit for quality-conscious contact center and UC professionals requiring outstanding sound performance in noisy environments and best quality stereo sound from dual-sided neodymium speakers.”
660 OOB:
630 OOB:
Face it. In the world of headsets and stuff like that, Sennheiser has a pretty good rep. And the 660 just reinforces that rep. Cables were solidly attached to the headset, the inline module, and the USB connector. Nothing flimsy here. The microphone boom had a very clever (and obvious?) solution to swapping the lefty-user to righty-user which was tight without being loose. Overall, the test units I had were most excellent in build quality terms.
Sennheiser is claiming “Optimized for Microsoft Lync” on these units. So, in theory, I should be able to plug in and go. Which is exactly how it went down. I did see a quick blip as the drivers installed, but in general, a seamless integration into Lync. The inline module has the expected controls and they function as you would expect. Audio quality was excellent. Noise cancelling appeared to be outstanding. I made several calls while in a noisy café environment and the far side of the call did not hear the usual background clutter. IMHO, the marketspeak is spot on.
The cord on the 660 must be 7-8 feet long. That would be 201 – 244 cm for the EU folks. What a tangled mess. No matter how neatly I wrapped up the 660 before it went into my backpack, when it came time to take it out, I spent the next 5 minutes getting it straightened out. It could be that with some more usage the cord will lose the ‘every three inches’ bend it has from coming out of the box, but I am not holding my breath waiting for that. I would rather have a more substantial piece of wiring and put up with the bulk than have this mess each time.
The 630 is only one ear, so this comment does not apply to it.
The 660 has some serious audiophile roots. Flat, balanced, realistic, great response. Wow. No frequency band overpowered another. Excellent spatial distinction. WOW. All while sounding excellent with Lync Voice. I did not try the 660 on anything but Pandora, but my Catfish Blues station sounded absolutely excellent. FWIW, everyone should listen to the Jelly Roll Kings once in their life. This lead to Meat Loaf and Journey and Indigenous; all reproduced in a most excellent fashion! <RantOff/>
You can get the 660 and the 630 right here.
YMMV
If you have been hiding under a rock (like me) then you might not know that as of June 2014, Lync federation to AIM will no longer go through Microsoft. To whit: “For Microsoft Lync customers, establishing a direct relationship with AOL is the only way to federate with AIM once our agreement with Microsoft ends in June 2014.”
As always, YMMV.
Toys! I love toys.
This time it is the Sennheiser MM 30i and the CX 275s. I wanted to look at these two items for one big reason. I fly. And on the plane, I want some nice noise-cancelling ear buds, but I also want them to sound great and provide a microphone so that I can make a phone call without having to dig out my Bluetooth earpiece. Just go from musack to talking on the cell without changing parts.
Here is the Sennheiser market-speak for these two items:
MM 30i - Realize the full audio potential of your iPod, iPad or iPhone with this high quality ear canal headset. A smart inline remote conceals a microphone and included adapters customize the fit.
CX 275s - Empower all your music, calls and gaming on your smartphone or tablet with awesome stereo sound. CX 275s universal in-ear headset features a smart remote and microphone. Adaptor cable included.
All manufacturer hype aside, and desiring to have my aural canals rocked by good (well, as good as it gets with earbuds) musack while retaining a good call quality, I plugged up and played.
The MM 30i is, for me, better. For starters, the MM 30i is iPhone specific. The inline control is actually able to control the phone. Nice. The CX 275s had better sound I think, in the bass sections. The CX was touted as being able to build more decibels, and that proved to be true. I only had the volume up to the point of making my ears bleed once with each, and the CX certainly provided more pain.
But the control on the CX inline thingy was marginal. Maybe I need to read the instructions, but my eyes are not that good. Dang but that print is SMALL! Or maybe I should get my boss to obtain me (yet another toy!) a Droid to test with.
Either set demonstrated very nice music reproduction while not sounding too musicky (?) for voice purposes. As to comparing to the Apple-provided earbuds, either of these are far and away better in both sound and fit.
Comfort out of the package was quite good. Both sets come with three sizes of cushions. Seeing as how both the MM and the CX are “in the ear canal” designs, this is important. I guess I am boring, the middle size (as shipped) worked best for me. The smalls were too small, while the large size simply would not fit. Over the several hours of playing with both of these, I was impressed by my ears not feeling like a bearing puller was trying to extract a press-fit from my inner ear.
When using the earbuds with Lync 2013 Mobile Client, I had excellent results. ‘Nuff said.
All in all, in the vernacular of the 60’s, groovy. I had to forcibly remove the CX from the hands of my Droid tester. Apparently they rock a Droid. Now I can’t wait for my next project that requires airline travel so I can give the MM 30i a more comprehensive trial. In closing, these are the best ear buds I have heard yet.
You can get yours right here: MM 30i – CX 275s.
YMMV
Announcing the Release of the Updated Lync Connectivity Analyzer.
YMMV
AudioCodes has just released its Mediant 9000, a high capacity SBC with capabilities tailored to the Enterprise market. This device is suitable for both Cloud/365 or On Premise deployments. My sources indicate that the Mediant 9000 is close to being Lync qualified. Here is a link to the press release for more details.
YMMV
